What are some interesting ways to teach the periodic table to 10th and 11th grade students?

chr1sb0y — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 05:54:40 -0800

What are some interesting ways to teach the periodic table to 10th and 11th grade students? I am about to start a 2 month student teaching placement in a high school chem class, in an alternative high school. The school does not use standardized testing or exams, but relies on projects and portfolios to assess students. (This is NOT a posh suburban school, but part of a city school system.)

I need to do a big unit on the history and structure and utility of the periodic table - and so I am looking for interesting ways to present the material and interesting projects to give to the students.

[This question up for an hour or so and then was lost in Metafilter's recent reboot, but I did see a suggestion to use Tom Lehrer's Element Song in the brief time it was up. Thanks to whoever suggested that!]

Help me make the Beeriodic Table

twirlypen — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:04:04 -0800

I'm looking for beers that correspond to elements on the periodic table. Arsenic (As) = Asahi, Titanium (Ti) = Tiger, Potassium (K) = Kingfisher, and so on. I've got a lot of gaps- please help! Here's my very incomplete list so far. I'm happy for them to be international (I'm from Australia) and micro-breweries are fine, although at some point I'm hoping to get my hands on one of each, so the easier they are to get the better.

Actinium - Ac
Aluminum - Al - Alcazar Gaoler's Ale
Americium - Am - Amstel
Antimony - Sb
Argon - Ar - Arkell's Bees Organic Ale
Arsenic - As - Asahi
Astatine - At
Barium - Ba - Bali Hai
Berkelium - Bk
Beryllium - Be - Beer Lao
Bismuth - Bi - Bintang
Boron - B - Boags Premium
Bromine - Br - Brooklyn Lager
Cadmium - Cd
Caesium - Cs
Calcium - Ca - Cascade Lager
Californium - Cf
Carbon - C - Chang
Cerium - Ce
Chlorine - Cl
Chromium - Cr
Cobalt - Co - Coopers Pale Ale
Copper - Cu
Curium - Cm
Dysprosium - Dy
Einsteinium - Es
Erbium - Er - Erdinger Dunkel
Europium - Eu
Fermium - Fm
Fluorine - F - Anything but Fosters
Francium - Fr - Franzikaner
Gadolinium - Gd
Gallium - Ga - Gambrinus
Germanium - Ge
Gold - Au
Hafnium - Hf
Helium - He - Heiniken
Holmium - Ho - Hoegaarden
Hydrogen - H - Hampshire Brewery
Indium - In - India Pale Ale
Iodine - I - Innis & Gunn
Iridium - Ir
Iron - Fe
Krypton - Kr
Lanthanum - La
Lawrencium - Lr
Lead - Pb
Lithium - Li - Little Creatures
Lutetium - Lu
Magnesium - Mg
Manganese - Mn
Meitnerium - Mt
Mendelevium - Md
Mercury - Hg
Molybdenum - Mo - Mountain Goat
Neodymium - Nd
Neon - Ne
Neptunium - Np
Nickel - Ni
Niobium - Nb
Nitrogen - N
Nobelium - No - Northgate Brewery
Osmium - Os
Oxygen - O - Orval
Palladium - Pd
Phosphorus - P
Platinum - Pt
Plutonium - Pu
Polonium - Po
Potassium - K - Kingfisher
Praseodymium - Pr - Primus Svelte Primo
Promethium - Pm
Protactinium - Pa - Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier
Radium - Ra - Ram Brewery
Radon - Rn
Rhenium - Re - Regent Bohemia
Rhodium - Rh
Rubidium - Rb
Ruthenium - Ru
Samarium - Sm
Scandium - Sc - Schneider / Schofferhoffer
Selenium - Se
Silicon - Si - Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Silver - Ag
Sodium - Na
Strontium - Sr - Stonehenge Rudolph
Sulphur - S - Samuel Adams
Tantalum - Ta
Technetium - Tc
Tellurium - Te - Teme Valley Hearth Warmer
Terbium - Tb
Thallium - Tl
Thorium - Th - Thornbridge Brewery
Thulium - Tm
Tin - Sn
Titanium - Ti - Tiger
Tungsten - W - William's Brothers Brewery
Unnilhexium - Unh
Unniloctium - Uno
Unnilpentium - Unp
Unnilquadium - Unq
Unnilseptium - Uns
Uranium - U - Utenos
Vanadium - V
Xenon - Xe
Ytterbium - Yb
Yttrium - Y - Young's
Zinc - Zn
Zirconium - Zr

I'm hoping to construct a Beeriodic Table with a bottle top from each one arranged like the Periodic Table, but that could be a fair way off yet. At the very least I'll taste a lot of new beer. Thanks for the help!

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What are some interesting ways to teach the periodic table to 10th and 11th grade students?

Help me make the Beeriodic Table